Pro-Fo Lactic (U.S.A., 1930-40s?) Either a contraceptive or treatment for STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), or both. Ointment with a bag to contain penis. A short history of contraception and religion - Egyptian hieroglyphics from about 1550 B.C.E. describing a tampon used for contraception - Australian douche ads (about 1900)in the "Wife's Guide and Friend": The Australian government prosecuted this publication for being obscene because it advertised contraceptives and contained birth control information - Fresca douche powder (early 20th century, U.S.A.); the label contains language possibly hinting at contraceptive use - Selections from the first American edition of Married Love (first published 1918), Dr. Marie Stopes' book that was long banned in America. Dr. Stopes founded the first birth-control clinic in the British Empire, in 1921, and it's still running. See also early contraceptive sponges disguised for other uses. Ad for Ergoapiol, treatment for painful or missing menstrual periods or other irregularities of the menstrual cycle - or for abortion, 1904. Patent medicine at this museum. Enovid (U.S.A.) birth-control pill package & directions (1964) with booklet Planning Your Family (also 1964) addressed to married women, not single. See an American douche set from the 1920s. Fresca douche powder from the 1920s. What did women do about menstruation in the past? CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could? Some MUM site links: HOMEPAGE | MUM address & What does MUM mean? | Email the museum | Privacy on this site | Who runs this museum?? | Amazing women! | Art of menstruation (and awesome ancient art of menstruation) | Artists (non-menstrual) | Asbestos | Belts | Bidets | Birth control and religion | Birth control drugs, old | Birth control douche & sponges | Founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | Books: menstruation & menopause (& reviews) | Cats | Company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | Contraception and religion | Contraceptive drugs, old | Contraceptive douche & sponges | Costumes | Menstrual cups | Cup usage | Dispensers | Douches, pain, sprays | Essay directory | Examination, gynecological (pelvic) (short history) | Extraction | Facts-of-life booklets for girls | Famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | Feminine napkin, towel, pad directory | Founder/director biography | Gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | Humor | Huts | Links | Masturbation | Media coverage of MUM | Menarche booklets for girls and parents | Miscellaneous | Museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | Odor | Olor | Pad, towel, napkin directory | Patent medicine | Poetry directory | Products, some current | Puberty booklets for girls and parents| Religion | Religión y menstruación | Your remedies for menstrual discomfort | Menstrual products safety | Sanitary napkin, towel, pad directory | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | Science | Shame | Slapping, menstrual | Sponges | Synchrony | Tampon directory | Early tampons | Teen ads directory | Tour of the former museum (video) | Towel, pad, sanitary napkin directory | Underpants & panties directory | Videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | Washable pads | Read 10 years (1996-2006) of articles and Letters to Your MUM on this site. Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación. Dykon Leaflet for a contraceptive vaginal jelly without actually saying it (Dykon Products Company, Inc., Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A., before 1936?) No, in spite of the naked lady on the front cover (below) this is not a lesbian celebrity in a tube. (Dykon: "A celebrity, often a woman, who is much admired by lesbians" from http://www.allwords.com/word-dykon.html.) Although it talks around the subject in the text, Dykon is a contraceptive jelly from an era when women could not legally buy such a thing because of the Comstock laws in the U.S. Since that part of the law was eliminated in 1936, I date Dykon to before that time. But the typography and general feel also indicate a 1930s product. The text hints nonstop that the jelly prevents babies. I'm sure most women understood the code. Fret not: all sides eventually appear enlarged in these Web pages. Below: Front cover of the paper blue & black leaflet; it measures 3 1/2 x 6 1/16" (8.8 x 15.4 cm) Below: Back cover. NEXT Pro-Fo Lactic - Doozee douche for soda pop bottles - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1948 (U.S.A.) - Marvel douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Midol ad, 1938 - Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Enovid (U.S.A.) birth-control pill package & directions (1964) with booklet Planning Your Family (also 1964) addressed to married women, not single.